| A
Waterton Chronology Page 1 |
A
word about dates.... |
| |
Date |
Event |
Additional
Notes |
| In
the Beginning.. |
The
Watertons
|
 |
The
Watertons were originally from Lincolnshire, ,and had
migrated to Yorkshire several centuries before Charles Waterton's time.
Watertons were eminent in the service of the State prior to the Reformation.
The
Reformation was a 16th century movement to reform the perceived abuses
in the Roman Church that ended in the establishment of the Reformed
and Protestant Churches.
Remaining
steadfast Catholics, the Watertons suffered from constant exactions
and fines. It was not until the Squire's time that the Catholic Emancipation
Act was passed.
This
chronology, together with the various family trees, attempts to document
some of the significant events and episodes in the Waterton family,
in particular; the Walton and Methley branches. |
|
In
the beginning...
After the
Conquest |
Walton,
before the Watertons.
|
Walton
formed part of the Honour of Pontefract, of which the Saxon thane,
Ashenhold was lord. Walton was owned by his son Ailric.
After the Norman Conquest, Walton and other property
was given by William I, The Conqueror, to one of his supporters, Ilbert
de Lacy. The land had been Ailric's, a Saxon lord.
Ilbert granted
some of the land back to Ailric, father of Suein (Swane or Sweyn;
died 1129).
Suein's son, Adam Fitzswane, was Lord of Walton, Cawthorne and
Penistone. Adam founded the priory at Monk Bretton.
Adam married
Mathilda, he died in 1159, and left two daughters and co-heiresses,
Amabil (Amabel) and Matilda.
Amabil
had Walton and Cawthorne and became the wife of William de
Nevile (le Nevil). They had one daughter and heiress, Sarra de Nevile,
who married Thomas, son of Philip de Burgh. Thomas
died in 1199. Succession then passed through the de Burgh family until
Joan de Burgh.
from
de Burgh to Assenhull and then to Waterton ....
The years went by, as did the generations. Eventually, in 1404, the de
Burgh heiress, Joan de Burgh, married Sir William
Ashenhull, who thus acquired the de Burgh estates in Walton.
Constance
Assenhull was their daughter and heiress; by her marriage to
Richard de Waterton in 1435, she brought large estates
to the Watertons. (See also the year 1435). |
| 12th
and 13th centuries |
| 1159 |
Away
from Walton, the beginnings of the Watertons.
Reiner de Normanby (Normanebi), son of Norman of Normanby became Lord
of Waterton in Lincolnshire circa 1165. |
Waterton in the Isle of Axeholme
Reiner
de Normanby
was the first to adopt the name 'Waterton'. The name was derived from
land called Watretone on the River Trent in the Isle of Axholme, Lincolnshire.
There is still a Waterton
Hall there to this day. Normanby is on the other bank of the River Trent. His brother, Ralph, continued
with the name "de Normanebi (Normanby)". Click this link for
more information about de Normanebi,
the family and their lands. |
| 1255 |
William
de Waterton (II) died, he was the son of William de Waterton
(I) and grandson of Reiner de Normanby. From his son Richard
de Waterton came the Walton & Cawthorne branch. |
From
William de Waterton (II) and his wife Dyonisia, came their eldest son
Reiner Waterton (II) and thence the Methley branch of
the family.
William's son and Reiner's younger brother Richard de Waterton
was the progenitor of the Walton and Cawthorne branch of the family. This
line continued to Richard Waterton who, in 1435, married
Constance Assenhull to become the first Waterton lord of Walton.
Charles Waterton (the Squire) was descended from this branch of the
Waterton family.
|
| ^
top |
|
|
| 14th
century and into the 15th |
| 1333 |
Sir
Thomas de Burgh received a licence
to fortify his mansion at Walton, and to surround it with a stone wall built
with mortar and to crenellate it.
|
 |
Sir
Thomas died in 1334, shortly after receiving the licence to fortify the buildin, and before
the work had proceeded very far.
A crenel or crenelle is an indentation
or gap in the parapet of a castle, wall or tower, from where the defenders
could fire arrows or throw spears, etc., at unwelcome visitors. This illustration is of Warwick Castle, not an earlier version of
Walton Hall. There are no pictures of Walton Hall before the present building, the only surviving structure is the Water Gate. |
|
| 1340 |
John
de Waterton, (Methley Branch), Lord of the Manor of Waterton. |
He was Esquire of the Body to Henry Bolingbroke, Duke of Hereford. He was
born around 1340 and was alive in 1388. |
| 1365
- 1424/25 |
Robert
Waterton (Methley branch),
Lord of Waterton in the Isle of Axholme, Lincs. and Methley, Yorks. (alive
in 1398, died 1424). Supporter of the House of Lancaster.
|
Robert Waterton ("the Constable"). This Robert
Waterton was Esquire of the Body to Henry Bolingbroke, Duke of Hereford
(Henry IV), with whom he went on Crusade to the Holy Land. He was Constable
of the castles of Pontefract (1399-1425), Tickhill & Castle Donnington.
During
his tenure as Constable at Pontefract Castle, Richard II
was imprisoned, subsequently dying in mysterious circumstances 1400).
He
was High Steward of the Duchy of Lancaster, Master of the King's Horse
& Armour & Master of the King's Running Hounds. Jailer to James
I King of Scots & Scots Nobles & many French Nobles from Agincourt.
ob:1424/5 (will dated: 10th Jan 1424/5) bur: Waterton Chapel, Methley.
(7)
The Arms of Robert Waterton. Lord of Waterton in the
Isle of Axholme, Lincs. and Methley, Yorks.
~~~
This
Robert was the eldest son*
of John de Waterton of Waterton (b. c1340). There is no evidence
that he was ever Steward of the Honour of Pontefract and his lack of
knighthood **
(which in those days was not honorific) was down to his ability to avoid
such onerous duties and his usefulness to his Sovereign. His wife was
Cecily Fleming daughter of Sir Robert Fleming of Woodhall
and niece of Richard Fleming, Bishop of Lincoln, who founded Lincoln
College, Oxford. (7). See
14th & 15th century
descents of Waterton of Waterton & Methley.
The tomb of Robert Waterton & Cecily is in Methley Church. Cecily
was the daughter of Sir Robert Fleming of Methley.
The
Waterton Chapel in St Helens Church, Sandal Magna, is the foundation
of another Sir Robert Waterton, but of the Walton line, not
Methley. There are many confusions between the two Waterton Chapels.
The one at Methley is a foundation by the will of Robert Waterton of
Waterton & Methley and the one at Sandal by Sir Robert Waterton
of Walton lob: 1482).
(7)
Inset
shows the Honour of Pontefract towards the end of the 14th century,
i.e. about the time that Richard II met his untimely end.
Walton formed part of the
Honour of Pontefract, of which the Saxon thane, Ashenhold was lord.
Walton was owned by his son Ailric.
(Wakefield
and Sandal were not in the Honour, being part of the Manor of Wakefield).
A thane ranked between a freeman and a hereditary noble, he held
land granted by the king for services rendered.
In
Shakespeare, Richard II, 2.i.277-88, Robert Waterton was travelling
with Henry Bolingbroke, but, in fact, he was actually already in Yorkshire
and he was there to greet him on the quay at Ravenspurgh (now engulfed
by the North Sea).
King
Henry IV - Henry Bolingbroke. Born 1367; Reigned 1399-1413.
He was known before his accession as Henry Bolingbroke because he had
been born at Bolingbroke Castle, Lincolnshire.
[* not the 3rd son as stated in J.W.
Walker ref. 4.
** He was not "Sir" Robert, i.e. he was
not a knight, as stated in ref. 9. In
ref. 2 it states: " Sir John Waterton
was high sheriff of Lincoln in 1401, and master of the horse to Henry
V. at Agincourt. Sir Robert, his brother, whose wife was a lady of the
garter, was governor of Pontefract Castle while Richard II was confined
there: he had been master of the Horse to Henry IV." However, we
know that Robert the governor was plain "Robert" and not a
knight. A confusion of Roberts! Cecily was not a Dame of the
Garter.(7)]
|
| before
1387 - 1417 |
John
de Waterton, ancestor of the Squire, Lord of the Manor of Corringham,
Lincs. |
Son of Richard de Waterton. He was
the Constable of the Manor of Kirton in Lindsey, Lincs. and he was High
Sheriff of Lincolnshire 1401 and 1409. He was dead by 05/11/1417. He was
the son of a Richard de Waterton (b. 1320) and his son was also a Sir Richard
(d. 1479). This last-mentioned Sir Richard had a son, Sir John Waterton.
Through this abundance of Richards and Johns, the blood line continued on
towards the Squire. |
| after
1365 - after 1415 |
Sir
John Waterton, younger brother of Robert of Waterton & Methley, this Robert was the husband of
Cecily. |
Of him the old ballad says: "Waterton the banner bore of famed St George
at Agincourt."
Esquire of the Body to King Henry V, Constable of the Castle of Windsor
28 Jan 1414, Banner Bearer and Master of the King's Horse and Armour at
the Battle of Agincourt in 1415 (mentioned in the King's will). |
| 1418 |
Sir
Hugh Waterton, Methley
branch
(b. before
1396, d. 1409) |
According to Joseph Foster, Sir Hugh bore this coat of arms at the siege of Rouen 1418, "ascribed
to Robert in Jenyn's Roll ... borne .. by Sir Robert a Yorkshire knight
Arundel Roll". (1) (see
earlier entry concerning Robert Waterton, the constable).
Sir Hugh de Waterton's Coat of Arms(1)
Sir
Hugh de Waterton, Lord of the Manor of Wroot, was uncle to Robert the
Constable of Pontefract. He was Advocate to John of Gaunt and his son,
Henry Bolingbroke (Henry IV). He was not at the siege of Rouen in 1418
as he had died in 1409. The "Rouen Roll" which shows his arms
has since been shown to be an earlier creation with some additions leading
to this false ascription. He appears to have used arms similar to Robert
(the Constable) with the omission of the ermine tails.(7)
The similar Coats of Arms of Sir Hugh de Waterton, Lord
of the Manor of Wroot, Notts., and Robert Waterton, Lord
of Waterton in the Isle of Axholme, Lincs. and Methley, Yorks.
|
| 1424/1425 |
Robert
Waterton (son of Robert & Cecily,
Methley branch).
Lord of the
Manors of Everingham & Birkin, Yorks., and Laxton, Notts.
|
The only son of Robert &
Cecily. He married Joan, daughter of William de Everingham.
Joan died and in 1422, Robert married Margaret, youngest daughter of Thomas
Clarel of Aldwark, widow of John Fitzwilliam of Sprotborough (d. Rouen
17 Dec 1421). Margaret was a Dame of the Garter
Robert Waterton
died 17 Jan 1424/1425#. His widow, Margaret, "formed a clandestine
marriage with William Gascoigne, esquire of Gawthorp".
#The
date shows that Robert died in January 1424/1425. This does not
mean that the event could have taken place on different days a year apart,
what it means is that the same year is known as 1424 or 1425 depending
upon which calendar is used. Using the Old Style - Julian Calendar, the
year is 1424, in the new calendar - Gregorian - the year is 1425. The
Old Style year 1424 ran from 25 Mar 1424 to 24 Mar 1424. On 1st January
1424 (which was towards the end and not at the beginning of the OS year),
the Gregorian year 1425 began. So from 1st January to 24 March, the calendars
overlapped and the date is now written to reflect the 'overlap' between
the two calendars. See DATES. |
| c1408/09
- 1476 |
Sir
Robert Waterton, Lord of the Manors of Waterton & Doubledyke,
Lincs., Methley, Everingham, Birkin, Barley, Halghton and Potterton, Yorks.,
and Laxton, Notts. |
This Sir Robert was the son of Sir Robert
of Waterton & Methley (son of Robert
& Cecily) and Joan de Everingham.
After his
first wife, Jane, died, he married Beatrice, who was the niece of Maude,
Countess of Cambridge, wife of Richard Plantagenet, Earl of Cambridge. |
| Late
14th and early 15th centuries |
Late
14th / early 15th centuries
|
WALTON
BRANCH
John
de Wateron (d 1417), Lord of the Manor of Corringham,
Lincs., married Katherine de Burgh.
|
Katherine de Burgh daughter
of Sir John de Burgh, (Lord of the Manors of Borough
Green, Cambs., Cawthorne, Penistone, Walton and Hackforth, Yorks.) and
his first wife Mary, daughter of Roger de Grey, Lord
Grey de Ruthin). Katherine was aunt to Constance de Assenhull.
Sir John
de Burgh's daughters by both of his wives, were all heiresses. It was
his daughter, Joan de Burgh, who married Sir William
Assenhull, who brought the Cawthorne, Penistone and Walton estates across
to Sir William, it was then through Constance, the daughter
of Sir William and Joan, that the lands passed into the Waterton family
(see below). |
| married
1435, d. 1479 |
Richard
de Waterton, son of John de Waterton (see above), married Constance Assenhull.
|
Constance Assenhull was the heiress of Sir William Ashenhull,
and Richard de Waterton became Lord of the Manors of Walton, Cawthorne,
Penistone, Manston & Burn, Yorks (jure
uxor in 1443 on the death of Sir William) and Corringhan,
Lincs (from his father John de Waterton).
The wife
of Sir William Assenhull and mother of Constance,
was Joan de Burgh (formerly married to Thomas Haselden) the heiress
of Sir John de Burgh of Walton, lineally descended from Sarah, sister
and co-heiress of Adam fitz Swein fitz Ailric, the Saxon owner of the
whole of the Staincross wapontake,
and lands in Agbrigg and other wapontakes. (3)
(See also 11th century above).
Watertons
and Assenhulls United
Richard de Waterton (whose mother was Katherine de Burgh, daughter of
Sir John de Burgh) was the first cousin of his wife, Constance, whose
mother was Joan de Burgh, sister of Katherine, daughter of Sir John de
Burgh and his first wife Mary (daughter of Roger Lord Grey de Ruthin).
J.W. Walker
does not mention Katherine, daughter to Sir John. He does show Sir John's
second wife as being Katherine, daughter of John d'Engayne of Quy cum
Stow.(4)
High up in
the chancel of Corringham church is a corbel boss carved with the arms
of Waterton impaling Assenhull.(7)
Constance
Assenhull and Richard de Waterton of Corringham, Lincolnshire "began
their married life by moving into old Walton Hall which was standing in
1333, and by all evidences and as I understood it, was not new built".(7)
It was a crenellated building of considerable size and boasted an oak
panelled hall of around 27 metres (90 feet) in length. The Water Gate
at Walton Hall is the only part of the original building still standing.
It is the oldest remains of a building in the village of Walton.
"Thus
Mr. Waterton (the Squire) was twenty-seventh Lord of Walton, and sixteenth
from John Waterton, who acquired that lordship". (2)
However, it was Richard, son of John, and not John, who
acquired the lordship 'jure uxor'.
27th Lord or 28th Lord?,
Edmund, son of Charles the naturalist, styled himself "27th Lord
of Waterton" on his visiting cards
(7); or "28th" according to
other sources such as Julia Blackburn (8). |
| 15th
into the 16th century |
| 1477
- 1535 |
Sir
(Saint) Thomas More
|
Some
two hundred years later, in 1733, Charles Waterton (Walton branch), grandfather of the Squire,
married Mary Cressacre-More, seventh in descent from Thomas More.
Sir
Thomas More resigned as Chancellor in 1532 after Henry VIII assumed the supreme leadership
of the Church in England. He refused to accept the new Act of Succession
because it repudiated papal supremacy in England. He was executed for
treason.
Thomas More - read more ...
and The Reformation |
| 1479 |
Sir
Robert Waterton |
On the death of Richard de Waterton
in 1479, his son, Sir Robert Waterton inherited the Waterton estates
in Lincolnshire and Walton. He was knighted in 1482 by Richard, Duke of
Gloucester but died the same year. His son, also named Sir Robert, pre-deceased
him (d. 1475).
Richard's
eldest son, Sir Robert Waterton, married Sybil. daughter of John Gamston
of Sandal. This Sir Robert was the founder of the Chapel at Sandal but
as his only son, also called Sir Robert Waterton, died without issue,
this line became extinct (his son was buried at Doncaster Parish church,
but the reason why this was is unknown). (7)
Richard's
younger son Sir John (the brother of the Sir Robert who had died in 1482)
continued the Walton line. This Sir John's son was also called Sir John,
and his son was Sir Robert Waterton (d. 1540/41), Lord of the Manors of
Walton, Cawthorne & Burn, Yorks and Corringham, Lincs., through to
Sir Thomas Waterton (b. 1500, d. 1558). |
| ^
top |
|
|
| 1540 |
Sir
Robert Waterton, b. 1478, d. 26 Feb 1540/41. Walton branch. |
This Sir Robert
is the son of Sir John Waterton (d. 1494/95). He is known to have owned
the three hamlets of Middle Walton, Nether Walton (also known as Lower
Walton, Low Town or Lower Town) and Upper Walton (also known as Overtown
or Uppertown).
He was knighted
in 1501 on the marriage of Arthur, Prince of Wales. At the same time,
he was granted the Otter amorial crest.
Otter amorial crest.
Sir Robert
Waterton, Master of Horse to Henry VIII, refused to acknowledge the king
as 'supreme head of the church in England' and so received the following
letter from the king: "Waterton, I will take thy estate, but I will
save thy life. Henry Rex".(6) Read
more about The Reformation.
Reign of
Henry VIII (1509-1547) - "Our Royal Goat" as described by Waterton. The
Watertons remained true to Rome and lost possessions under Henry VIII.
The King founded the Church of England and severed the connection with
Rome. |
| 1500
- 1558 |
Sir
Thomas Waterton, b. 1500, d. 25/07/1558.
|
"Master
Waterton, a man of fair lands, hath a praity Manor House in Sandon Paroch.
The chief Church of Sandon is appropriate to S. Stephance's College at Westminster.
At the est ende of this village is a praity Castelet on a hilling ground
with a Diche aboute it. It longid to Warine Earl of Surrey: now to the King."
Itinerary - John Leland, King's Antiquary and Chaplain to Henry VIII. Early
16th Century. (Sandon is today Sandal Magna. Warine refers to the De
Warrenes, the Earls of Surrey.)(3) |
| 1553
- 1558 |
During
the reign of the Roman Catholic Queen Mary (Bloody Mary) - Mary I, Sir
Thomas Waterton was High Sheriff of York, |
This
tenure as High Shefiff was the last commission of state held by a Waterton
until Edmund Waterton (son of Charles the Squire) became Deputy Lieutentant
in Yorkshire and a magistrate. Thomas was knighted on 11/05/1544. |
| 16th
into 17th century |
| 1558
- 1603 |
John
Pilkington of Kirkheaton (great grandson of Sir John Pilkington, 6th
in descent from Alexander de Pilkington 1300) married Rosamund, daughter
of Sir Thomas Waterton |
Their
son was bow bearer to Queen Elizabeth I |
^ top | page 2 |
References
Sources - General Note
The
chronology on this page has been revised as a consequence of information received
from David Alexander Richard Waterton-Anderson , 2004.
1.
Feudal Coats of Arms and Pedigrees, Joseph Foster, 1902.
2. Wanderings in South America, Charles Waterton, edited by
Rev. JG Wood, Macmillan & Co., London,1880.
3. The Herald, 06/09/1890.
4. Most dates and names from: The Burghs of Cambridgeshire and
Yorkshire and the Watertons of Lincolnshire and Yorkshire. J.W. Walker, OBE,
FSA, The Journal of the Yorkshire Archaelogical Society, 1931.
5. Sandal Magna, A Yorkshire Parish and its People, Mary Ingham
& Barbara Andrassy.
6. The History and Topography of the Isle of Axholme, Rev. B.
Stonehouse, London, 1839.
7. Research by David Alexander Richard Waterton-Anderson , 2004.
(More information about Lord Everingham
of Laxton)
8. Charles Waterton, Traveller and Conservationist. Julia Blackburn,
The Bodley Head, 1989.
9. Essays on Natural History, Charles Waterton, edited with
a Life of the Author by Norman Moore, Frederick Warne & Co., London, 1871.
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